Lesson Plans on the Revolutionary War
Learn more about Gregory Edgar fascinating historical fiction books geared to the teen reader plus lesson plans on the Revolutionary War -- for classroom use with Gregory Edgar's award winning young adult historical fiction novels, Patriots and Gone to Meet the British.
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Lesson Plans on the Revolutionary WarLearn more about Gregory Edgar fascinating historical fiction books geared to the teen reader plus lesson plans on the Revolutionary War -- for classroom use with Gregory Edgar's award winning young adult historical fiction novels, Patriots and Gone to Meet the British.

Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe by Wikipedia - Harriet Beecher Stowe traveled to Washington, D.C. and there met President Abraham Lincoln on November 25, 1862. Legend has it that, upon meeting her, he greeted her by saying, "so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."

The American Revolutionary War (also known as the
American War of Independence and American Revolution)
was a war fought between the British Crown and its
colonies in North America, allied with France, from
1775 to 1783. The eventual outcome was the recognition
of independence of the 13 southernmost of the colonies,
as well as lightly settled territories west to the
Mississippi River.

Before the revolution most people in the British North
American Colonies considered themselves loyal subjects
of the British Crown, with the same rights and obligations
as people in Britain. However, under the doctrine
of mercantilism the British considered the Colonies
more as a resource to be utilized for the benefit
of their own economy and had little respect for the
Colonialists. This difference in perception led to
a vicious circle of Colonialists acting against what
they saw as unfair policies, harsh British reaction,
followed by stronger Colonial reaction, leading to
even harsher British reaction -- all of this spiraling
into the revolution.

As the Colonialists started rejecting the Crown they
also started becoming more radicalized in other ways,
paying more attention to the idea of a broad democracy
and to people like Thomas Paine who not long previously
would have been condemned as a leveller.

It should be noted however that a large proportion,
probably a majority, of the population did stay loyal
or neutral during the war. Loyalists, known as Tories,
included members of the aristocracy who had a lot
to lose as well as recent immigrants who identified
more with their birthplace than their new home. Following
the war many Tories were forced to flee to Canada
or Britain. Many Native Americans also opposed the
revolution realizing that they were likely to suffer
more at the hands of independent Americans than the
British.

The revolution started in April 1775 when British
troops quartered in Boston attempted to seize munitions
stored by colonial militias at Concord, Massachusetts.
Conflict spread and the outnumbered British garrisons
in the 13 Southernmost colonies were quickly defeated.
Fort Ticonderoga fell in May, Montreal in August.
Boston was evacuated by British troops in October.
By the end of 1775 Britain's holdings in North America
had been reduced to the Canadian Maritimes and a besieged
garrison at Quebec City in Canada.

In 1776, the British sent 75,000 troops to North America
to quell the rebellion. The colonists met in Philadelphia
in June of 1776 and declared independence from England
on July 4, 1776. See United States Declaration of
Independence. The colonial army proved no match for
the well-armed British and suffered an embarrassing
series of defeats in the Battle of Brooklyn Heights.
By the end of 1776, Quebec, New York City and much
of New Jersey were in British hands. However, during
Christmas week, General George Washington, who had
retreated into Pennsylvania, crossed the Delaware
River back into New Jersey and rolled up outlying
British garrisons at Trenton and Princeton. This established
a pattern that held for the rest of the war. The British
controlled the territory they occupied with major
forces -- primarily New York City and Philadelphia.
The colonists controlled everything else.

In 1777, a force of 10,000 troops started down from
Quebec to cut the colonies in half. Simultaneously
the much larger army in New Jersey moved across the
Delaware River and took Philadelphia -- the colonial
capitol and the largest city in North America. However,
after retaking Ticonderoga with little trouble, the
Northern army suffered a series of serious defeats
at Bennington, Fort Stanwix and in two battles near
Saratoga. By October the 5,700 survivors found themselves
surrounded, outnumbered and short of supplies in the
wilderness 130 miles (210 km) south of Montreal with
winter approaching.

On October 17th General Burgoyne surrendered an entire
British Army to the colonials. News of the surrender
arrived in Paris hard on the heels of news that colonial
troops had caused supposedly invincible British regulars
to flee in disarray in the early stages of the Battle
of Germantown. Convinced by Benjamin Franklin and
the news from North America that the Colonials had
a reasonable chance of victory, the French agreed
to support the colonists.

With the French in the war, the conflict settled into
a war of attrition. The Colonials were too weak to
dislodge the British from Philadelphia and New York.
The British tried various strategies, but were unable
to establish permanent control over the countryside
and the vast majority of the population. The economy
of the colonies slowly disintegrated and the British
economy -- drained by the costs of a War with France
and supporting the large occupation forces in America
-- also suffered substantially.

In 1781, the British strategy changed to focus on
the Southern colonies. General Cornwallis led a force
of 7,000 troops whose mission was to support loyalists
in the South. He was opposed by Nathaniel Greene who
despite losing every battle, was able to demoralize
Cornwallis' troops. Running low on supplies, Cornwallis
moved his forces to Yorktown, Virginia to await supplies
and reinforcements.

Accounts of what happened next are remarkably diverse
-- possibly due to a desire by some American authors
to minimize the French role in the events. All sources
agree that French naval forces defeated the British
Royal Navy on September 5th at the Battle of the Chesapeake,
cutting off Cornwallis' supplies and transport. Washington
moved his troops from New York and a combined Colonial-French
force of 16,000 or 17,000 troops was assembled and
commenced the Battle of Yorktown on October 6, 1781.
Cornwallis' position quickly became untenable. On
October 19th a substantial British Army once again
surrendered to the Colonials; as they marched out
and turned their weapons over, the British regimental
band was instructed to play a popular song of the
day entitled "The World Turned Upside Down".

In April 1782, the British House of Commons voted
to end the war with the American colonies and the
government of war proponent Lord North was ousted.
The British removed their troops from Charleston,
South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia in the Summer
of 1782. In November 1782 a peace agreement was reached
although the formal end of the War did not occur until
the Treaty of Paris was signed in November of 1783.

AmericanRevolution.Org
- Educational information, history and genealogy
referring to the American War of Independence from
1775 to 1783. From the Riverside, California Chapter
of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Forgotten
Founders - "Benjamin Franklin, the Iroquois
and the Rationale for the American Revolution."
On-line reproduction of the book by Bruce Johansen
(1982), that examines Native American impacts on
the creation of the United States government.

Women Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War - History raves about the heroics of men in war...
but few instances are mentioned in which female courage was displayed.
Yet during every conflict, and the peaceful years between,
they too were there.

Historic
Valley Forge - References the area known historically
as Valley Forge, and chronicles its place in the
American Revolutionary War.

Liberty!
The American Revolution - Official online companion
to the PBS series features a potpourri of interactive
information on the war, timelines, a revolutionary
game, and video clips from the series.

The
Patriot Movie & History Resource - Describes
the events of the Southern Campaign (1780-1781)
and the prominant figures involved, comparing the
actual events with those depicted in the movie The
Patriot.